Physical Sciences Division Research Highlights

Ion Research "Transfers" to Journal Cover

Congratulations to Chief Scientist Liem Dang of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and his collaborator Colin Wick of Louisiana Tech University on having their article "Recent advances in understanding transfer ions across aqueous interfaces" appear on the cover of Chemical Physics Letters.

The review article highlights the results of computational simulations that reveal the behavior of ions at the boundary, or interface, of water and various pollutants, such as carbon tetrachloride and dichlorethane. The review focused on factors that influence the interfacial distribution and transport of "polarizable" ions. A polarizable ion is one whose surrounding cloud of electrons can be distorted from its normal shape.

The structure of water-based interfaces and the movement of ions across these interfaces is important to many biological, environmental, and industrial processes. For example, knowledge of how water and carbon tetrachloride interact may aid development of faster, cheaper, more effective environmental cleanup options.